There’s perhaps no place that could better illustrate how far the sport of mixed martial arts has come since its dark days than Brazil, otherwise known as the cradle of MMA.

Thirteen years after the UFC touched down without much fanfare in mega-city Sao Paulo, the promotion has returned to a country where fighting stops daily life.

Whereas only those in the know populated the pre-fight festivities around UFC 17.5, throngs of young fans packed Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach to catch a glimpse of the fighters of UFC 134.

A Brazilian populates every matchup but one on Saturday’s card.

The chief draw among them was Anderson Silva (30-4 MMA, 13-0 UFC), who fights Yushin Okami (26-5 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in the headliner of the pay-per-view card, which takes place at HSBC Arena in Rio. The long-reigning middleweight champion received a rock star’s reception.

So did Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-5 MMA, 3-3 UFC), who fights Forrest Griffin (18-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) in the card’s co-main event. And he wasn’t the only one who noticed the difference.

“I fought down here in 2003, and you didn’t really know what the hell you were doing,” Griffin told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I thought there was going to be jiu-jitsu on every corner. There were just going to be dudes rolling around in gis choking each other.”

The real reception was probably far tamer, and the medical treatment for fighters wasn’t the greatest back then. Support was always a concern, in fact, despite the country’s rich history in the art of jiu-jitsu and the dozens of amazing competitors it’s birthed. Attitudes toward fighting were not as they are now.

There’s a reason Anotonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-6-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC), who fights rising heavyweight contender Brendan Schaub (8-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC), speaks the King’s English. In 12 years of fighting, he has never fought in his native country. He had to travel thousands of miles to Japan to become a legend back home.

“It was very emotional,” Nogueira said of the reception on the beach. “Most Brazilian fighters haven’t had the pleasure to fight in Brazil. This will be my 40th fight, and I’ve never had the opportunity to fight in Brazil. To be rooting as a Brazilian would be great, but to be a part of all this is just too much.”

Rua used to joke that he reached boy-band status when he traveled to the U.S. and Japan to fight. Now, he’s a bona fide star on his own streets. But despite the fanfare, he said there’s still work to do.

“MMA is growing a lot in Brazil and throughout the world,” he said. “I’m very happy for that. After this event, I foresee a spike in the growth of the sport. Some people are against it because they’re not familiar with it. That’s going to change after Saturday.”

Even if it doesn’t, the demand for MMA shows no signs of tapering off. UFC executives Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White say the promotion is returning to the country in 2012, possibly in Manaus, for an event to be held in an outdoor stadium with a capacity of 100,000 seats.

Just 16,000 are booked into HSBC Arena, though White said in excess of 300,000 people were looking for tickets on the first day of sales. Make no mistake: MMA is booming in Brazil.

Thirteen years ago at the UFC’s first and only other Brazilian event, Frank Shamrock defeated John Lober to defend his UFC middleweight championship. Pat Miletich became the first lightweight champion (which was later changed to welterweight champion), and Vitor Belfort mowed down Wanderlei Silva in 44 seconds. Only the two Brazilians continue to compete, though they look nothing like they did back then, just as the fighters of Saturday’s card fight at a level that renders them almost indistinguishable from their predecessors.

The sport continues to evolve, and so does the landscape. Look at Brazil, and you see the global phenomenon that is today’s sport.

Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami

Silva looks to defend his title for the ninth consecutive time, and it’s a forgone conclusion to most that he’ll still have his belt at the end of the night

Okami is a massive underdog in betting lines and hasn’t been given much of a chance by the MMA public. In truth, he is the second choice for Silva’s ninth defense as Chael Sonnen’s woes with the California State Athletic Commission nixed an immediate rematch earlier this year. Sonnen, in fact, was the last person to beat Okami, and only the second to do so in 12 appearances inside the octagon (the other was Rich Franklin, who outpointed him at UFC 72).

But so great are the expectations that Silva will win, rumors of a possible quick turnaround at the UFC’s debut on FOX have abounded, though they were shot down Thursday by White.

In truth, Okami very well could take Silva down to the ground and do just what Sonnen did in his unsuccessful attempt at the champ’s belt at UFC 117. Okami was able to do so when he first fought Silva five years ago at Rumble in the Rock, and his takedowns and top control have improved greatly since then. But if he hesitates, Silva is likely to pick him off from a distance and earn the TKO win.

Mauricio Rua vs. Forrest Griffin

Two former light-heavyweight champions meet in a rematch from a bout nearly four years ago at UFC 76 that marked the UFC debut of Rua.

Heavily hyped after his storied run in PRIDE, Rua fought that night like a shell of the person that decimated his division overseas. He gassed out badly as the fight went into deep water. Unable to defend himself against Griffin’s relentless pressure on the mat, Rua tapped to a rear0naked choke with just seconds to go in the fight.

Rua is coming off a loss in this go-around, though it wasn’t to a choke. Badly beaten by the onslaught of Jon Jones, he relinquished his title to the young phenom at UFC 128. Griffin, meanwhile, comes into the octagon on the heels of a workmanlike decision victory over Rich Franklin at UFC 126.

A lot has been made of Griffin’s mental state heading into the fight. The cranky winner of “The Ultimate Fighter 1″ has openly complained of a lack of evolution in his game, and coupled with a loss of love for MMA, many have questioned whether he still has the desire and ability to fight at a high level.

Conversely, Rua has flown under the radar despite the much greater potential damage inherent in such a lopsided loss to Jones. With six months between him and that beatdown, he’s moving into a fight against a bigger opponent who beat him once before. Of course, he claims that there’s nothing holding him back this time around, and the knee problems that have plagued him are of no concern. But it’s hard not to wonder if Griffin is the right opponent to restart his career.

Griffin’s grappling skills are vastly underrated, and while Rua may have a speed advantage owing to his smaller size, he will be undersized when the two hit the mat. He may very well get worn down if the fight becomes a protracted grappling battle, which Griffin likely will gun for to avoid the winging hooks and knees that do Rua well.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Brendan Schaub

Former PRIDE and ex-UFC interim heavyweight champion Nogueira returns to action after a year-and-a-half layoff due to knee and hip surgeries.

Those ailments scratched a rematch with former champ Frank Mir and recovery from a devastating knockout against now-champ Cain Velasquez that brought his first stoppage loss.

The tank-like Brazilian said he’s now 100 percent, though on Wednesday he admitted he rushed his rehabilitation from injuries to fight on the Brazilian card. And it may not have been the best time to do that.

Waiting for him is the young gun Schaub, who’s on a four-fight win streak in the wake of his knockout win over Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at UFC 128. Schaub is planning to ask for a title shot if he’s victorious over Nogueira, though his claim to the belt is dubious given the career trajectory of those he’s recently fought.

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